Channel Master 4221 Mid-range outdoor rooftop UHF HDTV antenna | Discount Price: $27.90
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Brand: Channel Master
Features: - receives digital & analog UHF TV signals
- range is 45 miles
- reception "beam width" is 45 degrees
- 4-bay bowtie dipole design
- 20"W x 5-1/4"D x 36-1/4"H
small but powerful [Posted on 2008-05-23]
I had bought a 37 element TV antenna about 5 years ago for local channels. Never preformed like I though it should. With the up and coming change to digital change over, I needed something better. This is a great product; I have a large brick church blocking my line of sight to the TV stations I was wanted to receive. This antenna does great and actually receiving stations up to 50 miles away with a Philips PH61112 antenna amp added to it. The only problem I had was it got a little roughed up durning shipping
Great HD reception for most channels [Posted on 2008-06-06]
Buying an antenna for your digital TV receiver? It can be difficult, eh? If you live in the city near the transmitters, it's fairly easy -- any small, truly omni-directional antenna will do fine (perhaps the Antennas Direct DB2). If, like me, you live 50+ miles from the TV transmitters and they're in different directions, it becomes a challenge. Here's some tips:
- No antenna is totally "omni-directional" (receives from all directions) no matter what the ad says. Every antenna receives better in one direction than another, and the high-gain antennas are the most picky. Your TV's rabbit ears antenna might do better than a fancy high-gain antenna if it's pointed in the wrong direction. If you buy a "uni-directional" or high-gain antenna, be prepared to spend a lot of time tweaking the direction.
- Don't believe the high-gain ratings, they're mostly marketing hype. There are independent web sites by antenna nerds that rate antennas fairly, so do some research. What you'll find is that every antenna receives some channels better than others -- for instance, it may have great reception ("gain") for channels 30-60 but be terrible for channels 1-20. Ideally, buy an antenna that has has good gain for the channel(s) you're most interested in... if you know what those are.
- Antennas are highly sensitive to position, direction, and things nearby that might interfere with the signals (trees, houses, traffic, the family dog, etc). So what works for me or your neighbor might not work for you. Even a slightly different location may have a huge effect on your reception.
I have a Channelmaster 4221 and an AntennasDirect DB8, one pointed at distant Seattle and the other pointed at Canada, both connected to an RCA A/B antenna switch. Both antennas are excellent; the DB8 is slightly more sensitive but extremely hard to point. I would rate it 5-stars except it didn't come assembled and the assembly instructions are a bit puzzling. Construction and materials are good. The Channelmaster 4221 is somewhat easier to point but still highly directional; it came mostly assembled. Gain is good in my location. I'm only rating it four stars because the construction is less solid. If you're looking at these same two antennas but don't know what to buy, I'd start with the 4221: it's much cheaper and more forgiving about the pointing direction. If you find yourself needing better reception, perhaps buy a preamp to go with it; if that still doesn't work, maybe move up to the DB8 or a higher mounting location.
Good luck!
Do not buy from Home & Beyond [Posted on 2008-06-06]
I bought a channel master 4221. It comes form Polsteins Home & Beyond. They sent me a damaged antenna. I returned it and they sent me the exact same antenna back in the exact same box. It even had the note I wrote to them in the box. They just put it back in stock and then resent it to me. A very dishonest company. I still have yet to get my money back. DO NOT BUY anything form Home & Beyond.
Great antenna, lousy shipping... [Posted on 2008-06-24]
This antenna is working excellently for me. I have it installed in the attic and it works fine. It's getting all the HD channels that I should expect to get. Actually, I'd give the antenna itself 5 stars, but the shipping (as purchased here on Amazon) was bad. Amazon sells on behalf of some other company, who actually ships the product.
The box it came in was smashed on one end, and the antenna itself was mangled. But not only that.... I believe those who shipped it actually bent the antenna to make it fit in the box! That is, one end of the field, the wire matrix, was curled up to make it fit in the box.
So, you can simply straighten out the wires and make it work... it works fine for me. But if you're picky about this, or if you plan to mount it outside and want it to look pristine, be aware.
Somewhat overrated. [Posted on 2008-08-20]
I bought this on hype and the sad notion that I would mount this outside. I got it from Polstein's (stay away) and was deterred from mounting it, once I got a load of all the "you can die" sticker warnings. I set it up indoors without a pre amp and got diddly except, KPIX. I know it probably rocks once its in an attic sweet spot or happily on the roof, but I don't see it happening on a widescale in the future with people looking for hdtv from an ota. I found a rocking indoor antenna (RCA ANT706). I recommend finding the indoor antenna that rocks for you.
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